Sam

Books I read this year: 2023 edition

Another year, another reasonable reading hall. A year reading is a year well spent. I completed 41 books this year and abandoned 5. That’s a completed book every 8.9 days. 6 of these books were physical, the rest were Kindle or other digital formats. I’m happy with the time I invested into reading this year, but I tended to focus more on quantity than quality. Next year I’ve set out a clearer path focused on books that I judge to be larger but more valuable time investments, favouring slower, deeper readings.

One Perfect Saturday

Beau Miles is a wholesome inspiration. 5 years ago, he ran a marathon one mile per hour, filling the gaps with a whole host of practical tasks. He made this video about it. I watched that video last Wednesday and thought “I should do that”. The running appealed to me, but getting stuff done REALLY appealed to me. I didn’t have the inclination, time or energy to run 26 miles though, so I halved it, running 13 miles over 13 hours, and getting tonnes done in between.

Utopia for Realists, by Rutger Bregman

Less utopian, more evidence-based-and-undeniable, the world outlined by Bregman has a change in political mindset as much as a change in policy. It feels both within grasp and, in light of the political realities, highly unlikely. What’s a “Realist”? As well as the policy changes for which Bregman advocates, the meta-argument he makes throughout the book is that policy decisions today are made on the basis of assumption (or prejudice) and ideology.

Some Day Syndrome

When you’re younger it’s all “Not now” and “Once you’ve done your homework” and “That’s too expensive” and “Next time”. I woke up a legal adult with these phrases ringing in my ears and no fun scheduled. A bit of delayed gratification is good for you, but 20 years? I hearby give myself, and you if you need it, permission to have fun, now. What’s more, spend money on it, if you want to.

Book: Politics on the Edge

Rory Stewart, today of podcasting pseudo-fame, was previously best known for walking across Afghanistan & pretending to take selfies in a London park. An MP from 2010 to 2019, on the surface he sounds like the kind of Tory destined for power: Eton & Oxford educated, officer in the armed forces, well read. Yet this book highlights exactly why Stewart did not find the heights of success in conventional British politics, and perhaps why we wish he had.

Notes for the week ending Sunday 24th September 2023

An odd week this one, we went from 25 degrees to 10 degrees celsius, from clear skies to terrential rain. This period of changes continues. 🎉 Work Onsite & Social: Our 2-squad team had our quarterly onsite this week. Always nice to have everyone in the same room honing in on what we’re tackling for the rest of the year. Spin the Wheel CLI: Having volunteered to run the ice-breaker I was disappointed by the existing range of “spin-the-wheel” online tools.

Cohesion

I used to keep tech together, clothes together, smaller accessories together. That makes logical sense. Keep like things together, and you know where to find the thing you need. This is horizontal organisation. Looking at it through the lense of utility though, it makes less sense. To prepare for karting, I’d need to go in the tech box for the GoPro, the accessories box for a balaclava, clothing for karting gear, etc.

Notes for the week ending Sunday 17th September 2023

I decided recently I had room for a new hobby, and chose to give Karting a go. Like most of the good ideas that come to me, this really came from...

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Start Here

Me in 5 seconds Hey, I’m Sam. Currently based in London, UK, I’ve been working at startups as an engineer for a while now. How did you learn to code? When I was 12 I started selling sweets at school. Demand for sugar on the playgrounds of Britain was much steeper than supply. Especially after those school dinners. I found that I was running out every day, before I could sell to everyone that wanted something.

Why keep a diary

I get asked why I keep a diary. Also, I forget why I go to the trouble. Force Reflection Life goes by. Writing a diary forces me to think about the path I’m on. Not just the what but the how. How do I feel? A Record You will forget. I forget the day to day, but I also forget the big things. I forgot one of the best days of my life until I stumbled across a photo.

Financial Assets & Investments: A summary

4 kinds of financial asset Loans: Lender provides principal, a sum of money. Borrower pays back principal in chunks, plus an agreed % extra. The agreed % is the interest rate. Bonds: Owning one entitles you to pay-outs of an agreed regular sum, which may vary according to pre-defined market circumstances. The bond can be sold. Their “yield” is the % of the total they pay out per unit time. They are valued by comparing the yield to interest rates.

Financial Crisis: A diagram